Eagles Finish Second in Football Academic Challenge

The Eagle Rock High boys’ football team came in second in the 2017 Football Academic Challenge, a competition held by the Los Angeles Rams and L.A. Unified School District to see which of four boys’ football teams would end the season with the highest grade point average.

The winners, with an average G.P.A of 2.85 (B-), were the Tigers from San Fernando High School in Pacoima. In second place, the Eagles of Eagle Rock had a 2.77 G.P.A. In third and fourth place were the Lions of Fairfax High in West Hollywood (2.7) and the Cougars of Crenshaw High in South L.A. (2.56). The first-place Tigers won $2,500 for their school to buy athletic equipment and free tickets to a Rams game at the Coliseum.

The Tigers also did very well on the field, where they won a section championship. The Cougars were also big winners, taking the state title in their division. The Eagles and the Lions won their league’s titles, but in post-league play, did not make it to the finals. All four teams were ranked in the top 10 in the City of Los Angeles.

The teams were selected to participate in the challenge because they had about the same number of players, which gave each team a fair shot at doing well. In addition, the head coach at each school is a certified teacher on campus, which helped to ensure leadership from the coach in academics as well as football. “Our goal was to put more emphasis on academics and be more mindful of balancing our time between extracurricular activities and school work,” said Andy Moran, the coach of the Eagles. “I’m very proud of the effort our kids put forth.”